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An isolated hamlet above Porthcurno in the south-western
extremity of Cornwall south-west of Land's End, ten miles west of Penzance.
It is named after the Celtic St Selevan who lived in nearby Porthcurno and whose memory is perpetuated locally in St Levan's well, with its flight of stone steps to the remains of his chapel and hermitage on a cliff ledge, St Levan's cross and the dedication of the 13th century parish church.
The 13th century parish church is dedicated to the Celtic St Levan (as St Selevan is known locally) whio lived in the hamlet.
A large pre-christian sacred boulder stands in the churchyard which probably prompted St Selevan to build a church here on what was already a sacred site. He is reputed to have often preached from this stone. It is said that, shortly before his death, the saint broke the rock into two with a blow of his fist declaring;-
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When, with panniers astride,
A pack-horse, one can ride,
Through St. Levan's stone,
The World will be done.
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The parish is in the deanery of Penwith - together with St Buryan and Sennen, it constitued the deanery of St Buryan which was broken up in 1864. Early records have largely been lost through lack of care, and the parish registers start from 1700.
The parish is in the hundred of Penwith. In the past, the economy of the village relied heavily on shell fishing.
At Porthgwarra (the higher port), a little fishing cove, tunnels are cut through the rock to give access to the sand and ore-weed beach. Penberth Cove is also a fishing place.
St Selevan ate a single fish, freshly-caught from the sea by his own hand, every day and refused to fast on the Sabbath - legend recounts that, as the saint made his way to catch his fish one Sunday past the garden of a local woman Joanna, she was tending her garden and, seeing the saint, rebuked him for working on the Sabbath. To this, St Selevan retorted that his fishing was no worse than her gardening.
During the ensuing argument, St Selevan declared the woman a fool and declared that, thenceforth, any girl of the parish named Joannas would be as stupid as his adversary.
see also: St Selevan and the Bream
table= TimeLine
PWD datemain event Rank supp class status fileLink
| circa 492 | | Birth of St Selevan | | 1864 | | Deanry of St Buryan in Cornwall, consisting of the parishes St Buryan, St Levan and Sennen, brocken up | | 1932 | | Miss Rowena Cade and her gardener start carving out an amphitheatre on the cliffs at Porthcurno, Cornwall
It later became the Minack Theatre |
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